Conversation Among The Halls
by MeredyxD
Summary: Oneshot between Deuce and Twyla. Just a friendly comforting scene between the two :)


"Hey. What's wrong?" Deuce asked the lost looking girl.

"Me?" the girl asked confusedly and unbelievably.

"Yeah you! Who else is here dude?" the guy asked, flashing a smile and chuckling.

"Oh. Right." the girl said. She wasn't much of a conversationalist.

"So.. Um. ..What's wrong?" Deuce asked, desperate to continue the non-progressing conversation.

"What? Oh, oh nothing. Just waiting for my friend." the girl answered.

"Quite a sad way to wait for a friend, don't you think?" he asked, smiling in a genuine way.

"I'm not sad. I always look like this." the girl answered.

"No, no you don't." Deuce said.

"H-how would you know? And besides, I am! I'm always quiet." the girl objected.

"You _are _always quiet. You're not always sad. I've seen you around with Howleen. You smile when you're happy. You're not smiling right now." Deuce replied.

"Oh." the girl said, taken aback. "You've seen me around before?".

"Well yeah. I mean, not many times but sure I've seen you. Why wouldn't I see you?" Deuce asked.

"I'm not the sort of person who likes to be seen. I move from the shadows, I stay in the background. That's my thing. I'm the Boogeyman's daughter. I didn't think someone would notice me." she said.

Deuce looked genuinely sad for the girl, then asked her. "What's your name?".

"Oh? Twyla." she answered.

"So Twyla.. No place stays under the shadow forever. I mean, the shadows change places with the sun moving. So you don't stay under the shadows forever. You're bound to come under the sunlight at some point." he said, desperately wanting to make her see his point yet half struggling to express himself.

"I can move. I can move from shadow to shadow. I don't have to wait for a shadow to cover me; I go to them." Twyla stated, showing Deuce that she did understand his metaphor but that it didn't apply to her.

"Oh.. Okay." Deuce said, a little disappointed.

"I'm sorry.." Twyla said. "I know you're trying to help me but I really do prefer the shadows. Some people are just happier in the dark.". She attempted to cheer him up a bit by saying this. It worked. Deuce gave a tiny smile.

"Then why are you looking so sad right now?" he asked, wanting to learn what was making the ghoul look so fragile and hurt.

"I-it's just.. Howleen. We're best friends, you know? I miss her. I really miss her a lot." Twyla confessed.

"Is she okay? Did something happen to her?" Deuce asked.

"What? No! Nothing happened to her! She's perfect as always! It's me. I'm not good enough for her anymore. And she.. she left me. ... She talks to me still but I can see the enthusiasm fade from her eyes when she's talking to me. I can't get excited about the things she gets excited about, so it's not fun anymore for her to share things with me. We're growing apart, and I just miss the old Howleen. The Howleen that liked the same things as me, the Howleen I could laugh at stuff with. The Howleen with the shining bright eyes when she talked to me. Not this Howleen. She.. she grew up. And I didn't." Twyla said, letting the words escape from her mouth. When she heard what she said, her eyes started watering.

"Hey. Hey.. Don't be sad." Deuce said, feeling helpless about the whole situation. He was the kind of person who wanted everyone to be happy; seeing tears in someone's eyes hurt him far more than anything could. "Hey." he said again and pulled her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her to give her a feeling of a safe place. "It's okay." he said.

Twyla, shocked of the nice gesture, started crying. Tears rolled down her face and she didn't care anymore whether he saw her crying or not. "Do I have to grow up?" she asked him between sobs.

"What? Oh no, no! You don't have to. But why wouldn't you want to grow up?" he asked.

"Because!" she yelled. "I'm not ready yet for all the things teenage girls are doing! Going to the mall with friends, hanging out with boys. Dating! No.. I just.. I just can't." she said, her voice gradually getting tinier.

"You don't have to do that.." Deuce said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You don't have to instantly start those just because you're growing up. Going to the mall? Come on; not all teenagers do that. You can go to other places if you don't like the mall. I'm not crazy about it either. And I mean.. I'm a boy and we're hanging out right now so I think we can cross _that_ off the list of your fears. And well.. Dating happens when you meet that special someone. So if you haven't met him or her yet, then... there's no rush." he said calmly.

"Really?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Really." he said and smiled.

Twyla wiped her tears and gave out a tiny laugh. Deuce laughed in return. Soon they were both laughing.

"You look so much better when you're happy." Deuce said. Just then Howleen came, and saw her friend laughing in Deuce's arms. "W-what's going on?" she asked, confused.

"Hey Howleen!" Deuce said, and gave a pat on her shoulder. "How are you doing dude?".

"Uh, thank you. I'm good. And you?" she said, still confused.

"I'm great. Much better now that I see both of you happy." he said.

Twyla and Howleen looked at each other and smiled. Then Howleen hugged Twyla. "I miss you." Twyla whispered into her ear. "I miss us." Howleen whispered back. They then broke the hug.

"So.. Wanna give this friendship another try?" Howleen asked, looking at Twyla.

"You bet." Twyla answered, and both girls started laughing.

"Come on then, let's go! My place; let's hang out at home and mess with my siblings!" Howleen said.

Twyla, excited to hear that they'll be hanging out at Howleen's house instead of the mall, held Howleen's hand. Together they started walking towards her house, when suddenly Twyla let go of Howleen's hand and ran back to where they were. "Deuce!" she said, calling to the boy who was just leaving. He turned to her, just to be pulled into an enormous hug. "Thank you Deuce." she said.

"You're welcome, Twyla." Deuce replied, and returned the hug.

* * *

They then let go and both of them went their own ways, Twyla with her best friend and Deuce on his own. Both were smiling as they walked, happy because the other was happy. The boy was walking under the sunlight and the girl under the shadows; and they couldn't be any happier than where they were right now...


End file.
